clasp your hands around mine
by queen-sheep
Summary: the story of how albus and scorpius got together (ft. rose weasley)


_For QLFC S5 R3_

* * *

Scorpius finds himself lying on the carpet of the Gryffindor common room, for lack of anything else to do. All of a sudden, he feels a socked foot prodding him in the stomach, and then red curls suddenly obstruct his view of the ceiling.

"What are you doing, moping around here?" Rose asks, curious. "It's a Saturday."

"Nothing," Scorpius grumbles.

There's a thoughtful pause. "Weren't you supposed to go on date with Albus to Hogsmeade today?"

"It wasn't a _date_ ," he says petulantly.

Rose purses her lips and shakes her head. This won't do at all. Grabbing his upper arm, she _pulls._ Scorpius lets out a shout when he abruptly finds himself dangling midair.

"Alright, alright, I'm up." He pulls himself to his feet himself and dusts off his robes. Rose beams, then loops her hand through his arm. She leads him out the Fat Lady's portrait ("Have fun dears!") and down the winding staircases.

"Where're we going?" he asks, but allows himself to be tugged along without a fuss.

"To Hogsmeade, of course!"

.

They wind up at a tailor's store, of all places.

Rose chats with the owner about the latest fashions, and the various colours that are currently in style. Meanwhile, Scorpius meanders around the store, looking at fabrics and threads. Although he appreciates the thought, this was the last place he had expected to go in Hogsmeade.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a brilliant green fabric. Scorpius wanders over and runs his hands over it, smiling idly to himself.

"Gross," Rose comments, appearing over his shoulder.

Scorpius drops the fabric and flushes a bright red. "Shut up," he says. "If you're done here, let's go."

Rose smiles smugly at him as they make their to the door. "When are you and Albus going to stop dancing around each other?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, walking faster.

"You can hide from me, but you can't hide from the truth!" Rose shouts to his retreating back. The door shuts behind him.

"Rude," she mutters. She calls out a quick thanks to the shop owner, before hurrying after her friend.

.

They return just before dinner time, but head straight for the library instead of the Great Hall. Scorpius' eyes land on a figure slumped on the table, and his eyes soften.

"Albus," he says, shaking him gently. "Albus. Wake up."

Albus' eyes flutter and he groans, tucking his head further into his arms. "Don't wanna," he mumbles. Rose joins them then, and gives his chair a good kick. Albus yelps and clings to the table as his seat wobbles precariously. Scorpius stares at her disapprovingly.

"I don't have time for your married couple act," she says, rolling her eyes. "Come on, I'm hungry."

Both of them sputter disbelievingly at her. Albus scrambles to gather his books, and then hurries out the door after her, Scorpius right on his heels. Up ahead, Rose's back is already disappearing from view as she catches up with a group of girls she's friendly with. The two boys end up falling into place beside each other as they near the Great Hall.

"How was studying?" Scorpius asks, a slight smile turning the corners of his lips up.

"Miserable. I don't even know how long I was sleeping," he bemoans. He hesitates then, and offers Scorpius an apologetic look. "Sorry I cancelled our plans for today. I know you were looking forward to Honeydukes."

Scorpius smiles gently at that, and he finds he can't bring it in himself to be mad anymore. "That's okay," he says. "I ended up going to Hogsmeade today anyways."

"Oh?" Albus tilts his head. "With who?"

"Just with Rose," he says. "She insisted on dragging me out."

Albus' face flickers with some emotion he can't name. "And how was that?" he asks. "Didn't you used to have a crush on her?"

Scorpius coughs, and goes red. "You promised you wouldn't bring that up again," he hisses.

Albus doesn't continue teasing him, like he usually would. Instead, he stops walking entirely. The entrance of the Great Hall stretches just before them, warm and bright and already filled with chatter, but it feels muted from where they stand. Something about this moment feels important, and it's making Scorpius nervous.

"Don't panic, but I need to talk to you," Albus says, finally.

Scorpius panics.

"I think I hear Rose calling me," Scorpius says loudly. He slips into the Great Hall without another word, never more glad for the fact that they were in different Houses.

.

Scorpius wakes up in the middle of the night to something constricting his chest. For a moment, he feels something akin to panic and kicks out blindly, shoving the attacker off of him.

"Oof," a voice wheezes.

Scorpius sits up and peers over the side of the bed. "Albus?" he asks.

Albus Potter's dark messy hair pops into view and Scorpius slumps down in relief and exasperation. "Don't _do_ that to me! What if I hexed you by accident?"

Albus shrugs a casual shoulder, and then crawls back onto the bed and under the covers with him. He then bundles all the blankets around him, until he resembles a lumpy flobberworm. Scorpius regards his form distastefully.

"So why are you here?" he asks. "I don't even want to know how you got in."

Albus glares accusingly at him. "You were avoiding me after dinner time today. Just listen to me, okay? You don't need to say anything"

Scorpius nods slowly.

Albus drops his gaze, and Scorpius doesn't know whether to be relieved or not. "Look," he starts falteringly, "I- think it's easier if I say it outright. The truth is… I really like you. I think I might love you," he confesses. "But, I don't expect anything from you. This doesn't change anything between us. I hope it doesn't."

Scorpius' heart pounds furiously in his chest. "I think you can expect a little from me," he manages.

Albus glances up at him. "... and what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I really like you too," Scorpius manages. He feels his ears burn even as Albus' eyes light up. "Go out with me?"

.

Rose meets them both at the Gryffindor table in the morning. She eyes their entwined hands under the table.

"Gross," she says, taking a seat. Both of them just laugh at her and tighten their grips.


End file.
